Ear PLugs

[Marsbar]

Have you ever been to a concert where the music was so loud you were convinced you'd be hard of hearing for good?

Many of us have been there, and it can be difficult to remember to carry earplugs on you at all times. Luckily, you no longer have to thanks to a Toronto company called WHUT!? Earplugs.

"Earplugs vending machines are classic candy vending machines that provide inexpensive, comfortable hearing protection at 25 music venues in Toronto," said company founder Alisa Davis.

"Hearing protection needs more awareness and is a growing concern for people of all ages."

The machines — which really do closely resemble classic gumball machines and only accept toonies — dispense mini red cases with the company's logo on them. Each case contains two black earplugs.

They can be found all over the city at venues such as CODA, The Danforth Music Hall, Lee's Palace, Mod Club, Bovine Sex Club, Velvet Underground and more.

The earplug vending machines are also available at certain venues in Hamilton and Owen Sound.

"Earplugs are an easy way to give your hearing some TLC," one of the company's Instagram posts sates.

"Be mindful of the hearing damage that constant exposure loud music and noise can cause, especially if you like to spend your weekends on the dancefloor."

The earplugs are reusable, and the round red case makes it easy to store them away and use them at another time.

And according to Davis, hearing damage from loud music is actually far more common than most people realize.

"A live rock concert or party at your favourite nightclub can hit up to 120 decibels! You don't need to be a health professional or a scientist to know that this can mess up your hearing," she wrote on Instagram.

"Earplugs help tone down volumes so you can focus on having fun and keep your ears in great shape for life."

[MoodyBlue]

When I was a University student I worked in the bottling plant at Labbat's breweries in Toronto. After my third year, I was required to take a hearing test. It is very noisy in a bottling plant; imagine 100,000 bottles on conveyors rattling against each other. Take the cardboard dividers out of a case of 24 bottles
and shake it around a bit and you would get the idea. I was around 22 years of age at the time.

After the test the nurse said " you have very good hearing for a person your age". I replied "that is nice but what do you mean for a person my age?" She said "I can tell that you do not go to many rock concerts, keep the car radio down low and you do not wear headphones" [pretty much correct on all three]. We have had to reject some students after their test because they have worse hearing than men who have worked in the bottling plant for 20 years."